|
Colombia Caribbean Lowlands
The Caribbean lowlands consist of all of Colombia north
of an
imaginary line extending northeastward from the Golfo de
Urabá to
the Venezuelan frontier at the northern extremity of the
Cordillera
Oriental. The semiarid Guajira Peninsula, in the extreme
north,
bears little resemblance to the rest of the region. In the
southern
part rises the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, an isolated
mountain
system with peaks reaching heights over 5,700 meters and
slopes
generally too steep for cultivation.
The Caribbean lowlands region is in roughly the shape
of a
triangle, the longest side of which is the coastline. Most
of the
country's commerce moves through Cartagena, Barranquilla,
Santa
Marta, and the other ports located along this important
coast.
Inland from these cities are swamps, hidden streams, and
shallow
lakes that support banana and cotton plantations,
countless small
farms, and, in higher places, cattle ranches.
The Caribbean region merges into and is connected with
the
Andean highlands through the two great river valleys.
After the
Andean highlands, it is the second most important region
in
economic activity. Approximately 17 percent of the
country's
population lived in this region in the late 1980s.
Data as of December 1988
|
